Method and apparatus for attaching button furnished with shank

ABSTRACT

An apparatus is provided for attaching a button furnished with an inverted T-shaped shank made of resilient material. The apparatus comprises a tubular needle the tip portion of which is slantingly cut off and has a hollow space to allow one of the arms of the button to be inserted, a push pin provided above the tubular needle in alignment therewith, and cam members for operating both the tubular needle and the push pin. These cam members are arranged with a phase difference so that, when the tubular needle moves down, the push pin contacts the other arm of the button and follows the downward movement of the needle until the other arm of the button completely comes under an article to be buttoned.

United States Patent [1 1 Kato Sept. 2, 1975 [76] Inventor: Tamotsu Kato, No. 856, Ooto, Yono, Japan [22] Filed: Jan. 7, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 431,344

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 27, 1973 Japan 48-23492 [52] U.S. Cl. 227/67 [51] A41H 37/10 [58] Field of Search 227/67, 76

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 623,939 4/1899 Berg 227/67 X 1,518,065 12/1924 Hall 227/67 X 3,735,908 5/1973 Kinney et al 227/67 3,815,798 6/1974 Lavitch 227/67 X Primary ExaminerGranville Y. Custer, Jr. Attorney, Agent, or FirmEliot S. Gerber [5 7] ABSTRACT An apparatus is provided for attaching a button furnished with an invertedT-shaped shank made of resilient material. The apparatus comprises a tubular needle the tip portion of which is slantingly cut off and has a hollow space to allow one of the arms of the button to be inserted, a push pin provided above the tubular needle in alignment therewith, and cam members for operating both the tubular needle and the push pin. These cam members are arranged with a phase difference so that, when the tubular needle moves down, the push pin contacts the other arm of the" button and follows the downward movement of the needle until the other arm of the button completely comes under an article to be buttoned.

PATENTEU 2i975 3, 902.649

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PATENTEU 21975 snm30 3 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING BUTTON FURNISHED WITH SHANK This invention relates to an apparatus for attaching a button to clothing and the like.

It is known that a flat button provided with sewing holes can be attached to clothing by means of a thread by using a sewing machine. However, such a sewing machine may be complicated in structure and expensive. In addition, a button attached to clothing or such by a thread is easily detached by breakage of the thread.

In view of such disadvantages, the applicant of the present invention has provided a new button suitable for attachment by a machine without using a thread. The new button has an inverted T-shaped shank formed by a resilient material such as plastic.

The present invention is directed to apparatus for use with the new button and has as its main objective to provide an apparatus for attaching the button readily and speedily.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide an apparatus of the type defined above which is simple in structure and low in manufacturing cost.

A button which is to be attached to an article such as clothing by an apparatus in accordance with the pres? ent invention is furnished with a head portion adapted I to be exposed outside of the article, a resilient neck portion extending from the bottom center of the head portion at right angles therewith, and arms integrally connected to the neck portion in parallel with the head portion. The neck portion and both arms form an inverted T-shaped shank relative to the head portion.

According to the present invention, theapparatus comprises a tubular needle the tip portion of which is slantingly cut off to be able to pierce an article to be buttoned. The needle has a hollow space to allow one of the arms of the button to be inserted. A push pin is provided above the tubular needle in alignment therewith, a first cam member is provided with reciprocal movement of the tubular needle, and a second cam member is provided for reciprocal movement of the push pin. The apparatus has a driving means for operating the first and second cam members. The first and second cam members are driven and arranged so that they have a phase difference that when the tubular needle upwardly pierces the article the push pin takes an upper position and allows one of the arms of the button to be inserted into the hollow space of the tubular needle and that when the tubular needle moves down, the push pin contacts the other arm of the button and follows the downward movement of the tubular needle until the other arm of the button completely comes under the article.

The aforementioned and other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing main portions of an apparatus according to the present invention;

FIGS. 2a 2e are fragmentary side views showing different positions, in turn, of rotating cams for operating a tubular needle and a push pin of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a button, one of the arms of which is inserted into a hollow space of the tubular needle in the position shown in FIG. 2b; and

FIG. 4 is a side view, partially in section, showing a button attached to clothing by the present apparatus.

Referring first to FIG. 4 showing a button I which is to be attached to an article such as clothing by the present apparatus, it comprises a button head 2 adapted to be exposed outside of the article, a resilient neck portion 3 extending from the bottom center of the button head and integrally fixed thereto at right angles there with, and arm portions 4 and 5 integrally connected at the bottom of the neck portion 3 and in parallel with the button head 1. The neck portion 3 and the both arms 4 and 5 form an inverted T-shaped shank relative to the button head. Preferably, the neck portion and the. arms are integrally made of resilient material such as plastic.

.An apparatus for attaching the button 1 is schematically shown in FIG. 1 and assembled within a generally side facing C shaped casing 6 such as used in the conventional sewing machine. At the lower part within the casing 6 there is provided a tubular needle 7 the tip portion 8 of which is slantingly cut off to be able to pierce the article to be buttoned. The needle 7 has a hollow space to allow one of the arms 4 or 5 of the button 1 to be inserted therein. The tubular needle 7 is attached to a rod 9 which is slidably supported within frames 10a and 10b fixed to casing 6. The rod 9 has a cross-bar 11 fixed at its intermediate portion. As shown in FIGS. 2a 2e, a guide bar 13 is fixed at its upper end to the supporting frame 10a and freely passes through a hole 14 in the cross-bar 11. A compression spring 12 is provided around the guide bar 13 between the supporting frame 10a and the cross-bar 11, so that the tubular needle 7 is normally urged downwardly. A pin (cam follower) 15 is laterally fitted on the cross-bar 11 and contacts the peripheral surface of a cam 16. The cam 16 is connected to one end of a rotary shaft 17 which is rotatably supported within supporting frames 10c and 10d.

At the upper part within the casing 6, a push pin 18 is provided in alignment with the tubular needle 7. The push pin 18 has a diameter small enough to be inserted into the hollow space at the tip 8 of the needle 7. The push pin 18 is attached to a rod 19 which is slidably supported within frames 10c and 10f. The rod 19 has fixed thereto a cross-bar 20 fixed at its intermediate portion. As shown in FIGS. 2a 2e, a guide bar 22 is fixed at its upper end to the supporting frame l0e and freely passes through a hole 23 in the cross-bar 20. A compression spring 21 is provided around the guide bar 22 between the supporting frame l0e and the cross bar 20, so that the push pin 18 is normally urged upwardly. A pin (cam follower) 24 is laterally fitted on the crossbar 20 and contacts the peripheral surface of a cam 25. The cam 25 is connected tOOIllC end of a rotary shaft 32 which is rotatably supported within frames 10g and 10h.

A rod 26 is supported by the supporting frames 103 and 10f, attached to casing 6, and rod 26 (presser foot) at the lower end thereof. The presser foot 27 has a recess 28, as shown in FIG. 3, through which the tip portion 8 of the tubular needle 7 can pass. A compression spring 31 is provided around the top portion of rod 26 between the frame 10f and a lever 29. The lever 29 is connected to the rod 26 and projects through a slot 30 in the casing 6, so that, by operating the lever 29 along the slot 30, the rod 26 as well as the pressing plate 27 can be moved up against the compression spring 31.

Both of the rotary shafts 17 and 32 have, on their right-hand ends as shown in FIG. 1, respective gears 33 and 34 which are engaged with small gears (pinions) 35 and 36, respectively. These small gears 35 and 36 are connected at opposite ends of a shaft 37 which is rotatably supported within frames j and 101', attached to casing 6, so that both of the gears 33 and 34 are operatively connected to rotate in the opposite directions upon rotation of shaft 37. The rotary shaft 17, at the lower part of the casing 6, extends through the gear 33 to the outside of the casing 6 and has a pulley 38 fixed at its outer end. The pulley 38 can be operatively connected to a relevant power source, with a belt or the like, so that when the pulley 38 is rotated in one direction it causes the lower cam 16 to rotate in the same direction through the rod 17 and, at the same time, the upper cam 25 is rotated in the opposite direction by means of the gears 33, 35, 36 and 34 and the rod 32.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2a 2e, the cam 16 for operating the tubular needle 7 is rotated in the clockwise direction as shown by an arrow. The profile of the cam 16 is divided into three parts as shown in FIG. 2a, that is, part A for projecting the tip portion 8 of the needle 7 upwardly through the casing 6, part B for maintaining the projected state of the tip portion 8 for a certain period, and part C for retracting the tip portion downwardly under the casing 6.

Accordingly, when the lower cam 16 is rotated, the pin connected to the rod 9 contacts part A, part B and part C, in turn, on the peripheral surface of the cam 16, so that the tip portion 8 of the needle 7 projects above the casing 6, maintains the projected state for a certain period, and then retracts under the casing 6.

The upper cam 25 for operating the push pin 18 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2a 2e. The profile of the cam 16 is divided into four parts as shown in FIG. 2a, that is, part D for maintaining the push pin 18 to the elevated position, part B for lowering the push pin 18 to a predetermined lower level, part E for further lowering the push pin until the lower end thereof comes into the casing portion through which the tip portion 8 of the tubular needle 7 can project and retract, and part G for quickly elevating the push pin 18 from the lowered position to the elevated position.

When the upper cam 25 is rotated, the pin 24 connected to the rod 19 contacts part D, part E, part F and part G, in turn, on the peripheral surface of the cam 25. The upper cam 25 is arranged in such a manner that while the needle tip portion 8 projects upwardly through the casing 6 by part D of the upper cam 25 and, thereby, the push pin 18 is located at the upper elevated position (FIG. 2b); that while the needle tip portion 8 maintains the projected state by part B of the lower cam 16, the pin 24 contacts part E of the upper cam 16 and thereby the push pin 18 slowly lowers and is partially inserted in the hollow space of the needle tip portion 8 (FIG. 20); and that while the needle tip portion 8 retracts downwardly under the casing 6 by part C of the lower cam, the pin 24 contacts parts F and G, in turn, of the upper cam 25 and, thereby, the push pin 18 lowers at the same speed as the retracting speed of the needle 7 and partially comes into the casing by part F (FIG. 2d) and then quickly moves up by part G of the cam 25 (FIG. 2e).

In operation, the tip portion 8 of the tubular needle 7 is, at first, under the casing 6 (FIG. 2a). An article 39 to be buttoned such as clothing is placed on the casing directly above the needle 7 and is pressed against the casing 6 by the presser foot 27. Then the pulley 38 is operated to rotate both of the cams 16 and 25. While the tip portion 8 of the needle 7 is projecting through clothing 39 and the recess 28 of the pressing plate 27 (FIG. 217), an operator inserts one of the arms 4 of the inverted T-shaped shank of the button 1 into the tubular tip portion 8 of the needle 7 as shown in FIG. 3. This insertion can be done easily since the needle 7 remains projected while the pin 15 contacts the peripheral surface of part B of the lower rotating cam 16.

After the arm 4 of the button has been inserted into the tubular needle 7, the push pin 18 lowers and then contacts the upper end of the other am 5 of the button 1 since the pin 24 contacts the peripheral surface of part B of the upper cam 25 (FIG. 20). Thereafter, the needle tip portion 8 and the push pin 18 move together and come under the clothing 39 since the pins 15 and 24 contact the peripheral surfaces of parts C and F of the lower and upper cams 16 and 25, respectively (FIG. 2d). At the timewhen the push pin 18 and the tubular needle 7 move downwardly through the clothing, due to resiliency of the shank of the button 1, the neck portion 3 moves toward the arm 5 and comes close thereto and is then thrusted through the clothing together with the arm 5. Soon after that, the push pin 18 is drawn out of the clothing 39 and moves upwardly since the pin 24 contacts the peripheral surface of part G of the upper cam 25 (FIG. 2e). Thus, the button 1 is attached to the clothing 39 as shown in FIG. 4, in which the neck portion 3 of the button has returned to its normal state, i.e., at right angles with the arms, due to resiliency thereof. The aforementioned operations are repeated since the both cams l6 and 25 work cooperatively.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, modifications and alterations may be made within the spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for attaching a button furnished with a head portion adapted to beexposed outside of an article to be buttoned, a resilient neck portion extending from the bottom of said head portion substantially at right angles therewith, and arms integrally connected to the neck portion substantially in parallel with said head portion, said apparatus comprising a needle the tip portion of which is slantingly cut off to be able to pierce an article to be buttoned, said needle having a hollow space to allow one of the arms of the button to be inserted therein, a push pin provided above the tubular needle and in alignment therewith, a first cam means to cause reciprocal movements of the tubular needle, a second cam means to cause reciprocal movements of said push pin, a driving means for operating said first and second cam means so that when said tubular needle pierces the article upwardly therethrough, said push pin takes an upper position and allows one of the arms of said button to be inserted into said hollow space of said tubular needle, and that when said tubular needle moves down, said push pin contacts the other arm of said button and follows the downward move- 6 said first and second rotary shafts, a shaft rotatably mounted and having third and fourth gears provided at opposite ends of said shaft and meshing with said first and second gears, respectively, and a pulley connected to one of said rotary shafts. 

1. An apparatus for attaching a button furnished with a head portion adapted to be exposed outside of an article to be buttoned, a resilient neck portion extending from the bottom of said head portion substantially at right angles therewith, and arms integrally connected to the neck portion substantially in parallel with said head portion, said apparatus comprising a needle the tip portion of which is slantingly cut off to be able to pierce an article to be buttoned, said needle having a hollow space to allow one of the arms of the button to be inserted therein, a push pin provided above the tubular needle and in alignment therewith, a first cam means to cause reciprocal movements of the tubular needle, a second cam means to cause reciprocal movements of said push pin, a driving means for operating said first and second cam means so that when said tubular needle pierces the article upwardly therethrough, said push pin takes an upper position and allows one of the arms of said button to be inserted into said hollow space of said tubular needle, and that when said tubular needle moves down, said push pin contacts the other arm of said button and follows the downward movement of said tubular needle until said other arm of said button completely comes under said article.
 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said driving means comprises first and second rotary shafts respectively connected at one of their ends thereof to said first and second cam members, first and second gears respectively connected at the opposite ends of said first and second rotary shafts, a shaft rotatably mounted and having third and fourth gears provided at opposite ends of said shaft and meshing with said first and second gears, respectively, and a pulley connected to one of said rotary shafts. 